Why Do So Many People Dislike the Dining Plan?

[lazyboy97o]

Ok, let me say this: if people do not get the DDP, then they most likely have budgeted a certain amount for food. Do these people go into each meal thinking "I can't spend more than x dollars on this meal, or I'll go over budget"? If you're budgeting $50 per person per day, when the DDP is $64, it would be very easy to go over budget on any given day-a couple of extra snacks or drinks, or an entree that's a few dollars more would do this. So many people complain about how the DDP just makes the whole pre-planning aspect of WDW even more stressful. Trying to stick to a budget and tracking meal money every day, to me, would be stressful as well. At least with the DDP, you know the only way you will spend more than the flat amount for the plan, is if you buy items over and above the plan. People should do whatever they think is best for them; for myself and my family, the DDP suits our needs.

Because the issue of not wanting to waste money is not one of tight financial constraints. One doesn't need to be following a strict budget to know that they aren't eating so much food.

 

[Raineman]

Because the issue of not wanting to waste money is not one of tight financial constraints. One doesn't need to be following a strict budget to know that they aren't eating so much food.

If people feel like they cannot use the DDP to it's full extent, and they find that they have unused credits at the end of their stay, then of course the DDP doesn't make sense. I have not personally had that situation occur; in fact, we often pay for more drinks and snacks that are over and above what is included in the plan. We also like to eat food at WDW that we don't eat that often at home, so we feel like we are getting value for our money with the DDP. If you pay for the plan, but are always ordering the lower priced items, or only eating one meal a day, then, again, you are not getting value for what you paid.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Oh, definitely. The huge wad of cash I always carry around with me make me better than anyone else. That, and the luxurious 2008 Suzuki I drive to my factory job everyday. The point I was trying to make is that if you are dropping thousands of dollars on a WDW vacation, the couple of hundred dollars you might save by not getting the DDP really doesn't mean much. If $200 is the deal breaker between not affording the vacation and being able to go, you might not be in a good enough financial position to go in the first place. If you can keep your meal expenditure at WDW to $30-$40 per day per person, then it would be stupid to buy the DDP., not matter what your financial situation is.

And that's why I asked if you were trying to be a certain way rather than accusing you of being a certain way. People have all different perspectives for different reasons.

Ok, let me say this: if people do not get the DDP, then they most likely have budgeted a certain amount for food. Do these people go into each meal thinking "I can't spend more than x dollars on this meal, or I'll go over budget"? If you're budgeting $50 per person per day, when the DDP is $64, it would be very easy to go over budget on any given day-a couple of extra snacks or drinks, or an entree that's a few dollars more would do this. So many people complain about how the DDP just makes the whole pre-planning aspect of WDW even more stressful. Trying to stick to a budget and tracking meal money every day, to me, would be stressful as well. At least with the DDP, you know the only way you will spend more than the flat amount for the plan, is if you buy items over and above the plan. People should do whatever they think is best for them; for myself and my family, the DDP suits our needs.

Your first sentence here makes a big assumption. Again, different perspectives. First of all, not everyone is spending thousands on a vacation. Some of us are just visiting for a few days. Secondly, not everyone who is not taking the plan is on a strict budget. I'm happy to spend $250+ on a nice meal for two at Monsieur Paul (if it's a special occasion) but yes, I might want a $35 meal at another restaurant in the same trip because that dish might sound better than the only thing that is $50 or more (the filet - how many times can you eat filet in one trip?) And then, most of the restaurants where we would splurge take 2 credits, anyway - so I really don't see a point. It's more about freedom than anything else, certainly not budgets. It's all going on my Disney Visa card, and I'll pay it off whenever I pay it off.

Personally, I don't think it's more important to be organized or to know every cent I'm spending before I go. I can understand some people do emphasize those things, and that's not wrong, that's just a different perspective. I have found Tables in Wonderland to be a much better value for my party than the DDP.

I read this a lot, but don't really understand it.
Why the gift card? The money is spent either way. I mean you're handing over a card regardless of if it's a debit card, credit card, or gift card..or even your magic band. In the end it all comes from the same account.

One reason is you can save a little money by buying the gift cards at discount via BJ's, Target, etc. The other is we keep reading about people on the last day of their trip having leftover snack credits and spending them on less than wonderful snacks that aren't such a great deal just so as not to waste those snack credits. Better to have money leftover on a gift card, and either save it for the next trip or spend it on something other than food. (Or if it's a non-Disney card, spend it when you get home.)

 

[ninjaprincesst]

Explain this please.
It is pretty easy to explain,without the dining plan I could not afford to pay for a sit down meal every night. Yes, I know i could have great intentions of putting money back for food every month or put money on a gift card, but the best laid plans never work out. When there is a booked package out there it will get paid for, also I cant remember the last time we actually did not get free dining. Also I've done the math and we would have had a savings even if we had paid for it. We frequently share quick service because it is so much food, we always have plenty of credits left to cover the last day. I also like being organized and everything done and paid for months before our trip.


Exactly....A couple hundred dollars has zero impact on if I can afford a WDW vacation. However, ****ing it away for no reason is still quite undesirable for me.

 

[xdan0920]

So you use the DDP as forced savings. Basically, you can afford to eat sit down every night(bc you are) but you don't trust yourself to budget properly.

 

[draybook]

We like it but we only get it when it's free. If not for Free Dining, we wouldn't have tried most of the offerings they have due to the ridiculous prices.

 

[21stamps]

For the people who argue that DDP is great because the meals are pre-paid. This way the gift card is pre-paid, and you don't need to worry about having to pay for it after your trip. And unless you are one of the somewhat rare occurrences who actually eats exactly as the plan is setup and saves a boatload of money by doing so, you end up with money at the end of the trip you can spend on souvenirs.

Thank you. That makes sense.

Ihave no idea if I got my money's worth out of the DDP last time or not.. I don't want to do the math and find out.. Spilled milk and all..

However, I do know that we definitely didn't have credits left over.. I actually paid OOP for quite a few meals, and I know for a fact that I did make mistakes with it- such as not realizing I could use a credit for an adult qs and not realizing that I could use the DDP for a F! Dinner meal.

I'm a fan of appetizers and neither me or my kid needs a dessert with our lunch. So because of that..and the 20% AP discount at a lot of restaurants, I decided not to get it this time.

 

[21stamps]

And that's why I asked if you were trying to be a certain way rather than accusing you of being a certain way. People have all different perspectives for different reasons.



Your first sentence here makes a big assumption. Again, different perspectives. First of all, not everyone is spending thousands on a vacation. Some of us are just visiting for a few days. Secondly, not everyone who is not taking the plan is on a strict budget. I'm happy to spend $250+ on a nice meal for two at Monsieur Paul (if it's a special occasion) but yes, I might want a $35 meal at another restaurant in the same trip because that dish might sound better than the only thing that is $50 or more (the filet - how many times can you eat filet in one trip?) And then, most of the restaurants where we would splurge take 2 credits, anyway - so I really don't see a point. It's more about freedom than anything else, certainly not budgets. It's all going on my Disney Visa card, and I'll pay it off whenever I pay it off.

Personally, I don't think it's more important to be organized or to know every cent I'm spending before I go. I can understand some people do emphasize those things, and that's not wrong, that's just a different perspective. I have found Tables in Wonderland to be a much better value for my party than the DDP.



One reason is you can save a little money by buying the gift cards at discount via BJ's, Target, etc. The other is we keep reading about people on the last day of their trip having leftover snack credits and spending them on less than wonderful snacks that aren't such a great deal just so as not to waste those snack credits. Better to have money leftover on a gift card, and either save it for the next trip or spend it on something other than food. (Or if it's a non-Disney card, spend it when you get home.)

I just go on vacation with an overall amount in mind that I want to spend, and try to stay close to it. But I guess the gift cards make sense if you really want to compare dining plan to OOP at the end of your trip.

I almost purchased gift cards from Sam's this time after reading about the discounted ones a few months ago- not to bring with us just to pay for the trip. They are sold out of the $500 increments and I just could not see where I would possibly have time in a day to combine all of the $150 cards, so I didn't do it. Still hoping that they are back in stock before our trip..free money is always a plus!

Like I said above, we definitely didn't have snack credits left over (too many dole whip floats lol)...I didn't look at it like a discount plan though, I just looked at it as prepaid last time..I ordered what I wanted and never felt the need to order an expensive item. Difference this trip is I know I would end up losing money for sure based on the AP and how/where we will be eating. Absolutely 0 reason to purchase something that you know would result in a loss.

 

[21stamps]

Ok, after reading this you may be one of the people that would benefit from the recommendations of a gift card specifically for food.
I didn't fully understand until this moment.

Now I'm pro gift card in certain scenarios-
Maybe try it next time. Instead of when you make your final payment- go online and buy a gift card for the same amount as the DDP at that time. That way it's exactly the same amount of money at exactly the same time you would have been paying it anyway.

Maybe you will find you save, maybe not. Worth a shot though

 

[ninjaprincesst]

So you use the DDP as forced savings. Basically, you can afford to eat sit down every night(bc you are) but you don't trust yourself to budget properly.

Its not that but if you just count on taking the money on the trip something always comes up that you have to spend your trip money on, with a teen it's constant, band, choir, dance team, yearbooks, it seems it never stops , as well as we have done the math and were we actually having to pay for the plan we would be saving money, of course we use it wisely , we share some of the counter service because it is huge portions, we sometimes use snack credits for meals where you can get items like , baked potatoes, soup, chilli sushi, ect., it works for us. And I like everything neat , and taken care of . We don't need tons of cash to carry around the park just our magic band. it works for some not others.

 

[Phonedave]

I read this a lot, but don't really understand it.
Why the gift card? The money is spent either way. I mean you're handing over a card regardless of if it's a debit card, credit card, or gift card..or even your magic band. In the end it all comes from the same account.

A lot of people state something along the lines of "I know that the DDP causes me to loose money. I know it costs $500 and I only eat $400 worth of food, but I like the idea of having all of my meals pre-paid and not having to worry about carrying cash or having a credit card bill to pay when my vacation is over."

Buying a gift card and pre-loading it months in advance acheives the same end - you have allocated the money beforehand, you can link it to your magic band, and you dont get a credit card bill at the end of your vacation. The bonus is that it does not cost you $100 extra to do so.

Me, I use my magic band and a credit card that is linked to it. Our park admission is usually bought well in advance, and we are DVC so we don't get a room bill. Pretty much all that we have on a CC at the end of trip are food charges, and any souvineers we buy. Thanks to the crappy Disney merch, we don't have much in the way of souvineer chrages, and we keep a rough running total in our heads of what we have spend so we know +/- $100 of how much we have spent, so there are no suprises. That works for us. A gift card may work better for others.

-dave

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

A lot of people state something along the lines of "I know that the DDP causes me to loose money. I know it costs $500 and I only eat $400 worth of food, but I like the idea of having all of my meals pre-paid and not having to worry about carrying cash or having a credit card bill to pay when my vacation is over."

Buying a gift card and pre-loading it months in advance acheives the same end - you have allocated the money beforehand, you can link it to your magic band, and you dont get a credit card bill at the end of your vacation. The bonus is that it does not cost you $100 extra to do so.

Me, I use my magic band and a credit card that is linked to it. Our park admission is usually bought well in advance, and we are DVC so we don't get a room bill. Pretty much all that we have on a CC at the end of trip are food charges, and any souvineers we buy. Thanks to the crappy Disney merch, we don't have much in the way of souvineer chrages, and we keep a rough running total in our heads of what we have spend so we know +/- $100 of how much we have spent, so there are no suprises. That works for us. A gift card may work better for others.

-dave

We do a gift card to get fuel points from our grocery store.

 

[John C. Shepherd]

My Problem with it is that i dont understand it, i have read it over many times. I have had people tell me how it works and shoe me but i am still lost.

Price wise from what i take it is very nice, plus the idea of not worrying about paying for meals is great.